Paranormal Story Archives
February 2001
– Page 36
The
Crucifix
by Michelle
This nerve-shattering experience happened in our single home in the suburbs of Delaware County. I was sitting at my computer writing a letter to my cousin Bobby on the afternoon of December 5, 2000. It was a very quiet time; it was about 1 p.m. Our dog, Skittles, was sleeping quietly on the couch that's next to our computer. No one was home but me and Skittles.
As I was typing away at my letter, I was interrupted by a loud bang/slam sound that came from the upstairs. It was as though something had fallen or had been slammed down or dropped! Something heavy! My immediate thought was, "Oh, hubby must be home!" Skittles heard it too; her head popped up from her sleeping position, ears straight up and looking in the direction of the sound. Thinking hubby was home, I went back to my typing. I had to hurry because I wanted to finish the note before I had to get ready for work by 5, and I had to pick my son up from school by 2:45 But I paused again in my typing. Hmm... the noise wasn't from hubby. I would've heard his footsteps as we have mostly exposed hardwood floors upstairs with just area rugs here and there. But I didn't hear his footsteps, nor his normal "Hello!" as he would come home.
But then I thought, "Oh, it must've been the baby gate fell down in the hallway." Sometimes it'll just slip and fall. We use it to keep our dog out of certain rooms. So thinking that was the noise, I again continued my typing. I finally finished typing my letter. It was 2:30. I ran upstairs like lightning to grab a 12-minute shower before I ran to pick up our son. I flung open our bedroom door to find clothes to change into, and as I turned to look toward my wooden desk, a very strange sight caught my attention.
The crucifix on my desk was face down! I stared at it for about 30 seconds. I thought, "That was the noise I heard!" This crucifix weighs about a pounds, stands on three legs and is made of some sort of metal. But then I calmed down. I thought, "Let me check the baby gate." Nope, the baby gate was still standing against the wall in the hallway. I also looked in all the rooms upstairs to see what may have fallen. Nothing! Now I was starting to panic. I could feel my adrenalin really kicking in. Someone or some spirit had slammed down my cross! Or picked it up and dropped it! Thoughts started racing in my head. Could a book have fallen and knocked it over? No. No books disturbed. The wind couldn't have blown it over. No windows open; it was winter.
I wracked my brains trying to think of what caused this crucifix of mine to be in the position it was now in. A rational, believable reason. Hubby would not have done that before he left for work that morning. He is an agnostic, and would never think of touching a religious item of mine! That crucifix had been standing in that same position for about a week. I panicked even more. My heart started racing. I could feel my blood pressure rising by the minute! Then I would stop and think, "This is crazy for me to feel this way." But then again, there was reason to believe I wasn't crazy!
I could find no rational, scientific, natural reason except that it was my mother's spirit coming to tell me something! She had passed away on November 25, 2000, and was buried on the 29th of November, 2000. This was a very special crucifix. My son had bought it for me one Christmas ago. It stands about 10 inches tall, is gold in color, with a red velvet cross-shaped background behind Jesus. It is beautifully ornate with detail.
Referring back to my mother's death, we had to make burial and mass plans. The funeral home director told us since we're having a Catholic Mass, there must be a crucifix for the inside of the casket, and one for the exterior, as part of the Mass procedure. He told us we could buy both from him or we could use our own. That's when I thought of my crucifix at home! What a special cross this would become now! It was the crucifix I had chosen to lay on the exterior of my mother's casket during the burial mass at church. The priest had blessed it as it lay on top of the casket.
As soon as I realized this, I really felt mom's presence in our home! As I ran to get my shower, I was actually talking and rambling frantically out loud to her, asking her why, why, why? Are you mad at me, mom? Are you saying the "goodbye" you never vocally said to me before you died? You're trying to make sure I don't forget to pray for you, right mom? Mom, I miss you so bad. Mom, I promise we won't argue about money and the house!... etc., etc. No, I didn't get answers from mom, but I was frantic. Her spirit had been in our home that day. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind of this!
To see if the crucifix had been unsteady, I picked it up and checked it. I checked to make sure it had been firmly screwed onto it's base. It was. Then I stood it up and I bopped it gently with my hand. It did not fall over! It would've taken a heavy, hard smack to knock it down. I even tested to see if a book had fallen near it, if the vibration of a heavy book slammed down next to it would make the crucifix go face down. It didn't.
I had to run get my son from school. I couldn't wait to tell him what had happened. As soon as he got in the car I told him the whole thing, and he paused and thought a moment. He remarked to me, "Mom, do you realize it is exactly one week today that mom-mom was buried? And that noise you heard from the cross happened right at about the time she was buried that afternoon, seven days before?" No, I hadn't realized it. But now I did! My gosh! Is she trying to communicate with me? Is she not in Heaven like I tried to send her? My mom was raised Catholic, but in the last five or six years, I saw her faith in the Lord dwindle to skepticism and extreme doubt. In the weeks preceding her death, we had requested several priests to come and bless her and get a last confession from her. But I don't know if she accomplished that with the priests, but the first one told me, "Everything is fine." Did that mean she confessed and would be forgiven of any serious sins and would be admitted to Heaven? I was really hoping that's what the priest meant.
Or did she not for some reason gain entrance to Heaven, and is wandering around in Limbo or Purgatory? I continue to pray for her every night. I really want her to be in Heaven with Our Lord and God. I really wonder what diminished her belief in the Almightly in recent years. I'm going to keep praying, and with all the praying of the mass cards we received for her, I pray she gets to Heaven someday soon.
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